Hoarse
by aeneani
Summary: Immediately set the day after HSM3's "Scream".


"Whoa! Troy, look!"

A strong forearm shot out in front of the brooding brown-haired boy but he paid it no mind until he bounced off of it. The usually graceful East High basketball star stumbled back into the stairs he had just stepped down from before he was able to regain his balance. Irritably pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to fight down the hot wave of frustration that surged through him.

It seemed no one was picking up on his silent but nevertheless obvious hints that he didn't want to be bothered today in any shape, form, or fashion. Duly he took notice of his close friend Zeke Baylor pointing at something on the ground which was attracting an audience of students. He held in a heaving sigh before following his friend over to the gathering crowd. As he neared his murmuring peers, Troy decided right then that he would momentarily entertain whatever was going on and then he would slip off to the practice gym for the rest of lunch.

Hell, maybe even for the rest of the day. He really needed to be by himself and have a chance to leave Gabriella another voicemail.

He reached the crowd and pushed his way through to the center only to have his stomach lurch unpleasantly when he saw Chad kneeling by a huge pile of white cloth.

_Fuck._

He would admit that he was partly surprised to see that the banner of him was still crumpled on the floor of the East High cafeteria. After he had got home last night from his afterhours jaunt of the school, he had only momentarily and guiltily thought about the banner he had pulled down before figuring that the custodial crew would have it back up by the next morning. He had then pushed the memory of the delinquent act to the back of his jumbled mind and hadn't contemplated it again until now.

Now Troy realized he had made a vain assumption and bad mistake.

He registered several gasps from behind him before more people walked into his field of vision to crowd around the fallen banner. The dramatics of the situation made him want to roll his eyes but he paused when he glanced at Chad. His best friend's jaw was set in a way that Troy knew too well and often associated with the need to be alert. Troy stepped forward instantly.

"Now Chad —"

"Who did this?" The underlying intensity of the words silenced the gathered crowd and made Troy pause even though they were spoken quietly. Chad stood, pulling the banner with him one clenched hand.

"I SAID WHO DID THIS?" Murmurs went through the crowds as Chad looked around glaring. This time Troy really did roll his eyes though it was still only mentally. Chad's loyalty truly was an amazing thing, but right now it was too much.

"Dude, just chill—"

"NO! I want to know who had the audacity to pull this banner down. If they were bold enough to do it earlier, they should be bold enough to step to us now." The curly haired teen turned around, eying the still growing crowd closely.

"Look dude, they might not even be on this lunch wave. Just forget about it." Chad shot him an incredulous glance and opened his mouth to reply when a voice rang out above the growing commotion.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

Troy's eyes immediately screwed shut in agitation. Out of all of the faculty members that could have wondered upon this scene, it had to be the very person that he had been avoiding since last night and so far today. Maybe if he didn't move and stayed silent, he wouldn't even notice him.

The air filled with at least ten voices as various people tried to explain what was going on to the head varsity boys' basketball coach, Chad's voice being the loudest. And despite the fact that any normal person would have been paying attention to the people talking to them, Troy _knew_ his father's gaze was burning a hole into the back of his head.

His first thought was to flee. His second was to play dead.

He bitterly picked the former.

Troy moved so suddenly that he stumbled in his haste. Slipping between two talking girls, he started for the edge of the crowd to the left of him while ignoring some of the curious expressions directed at him.

Muttering apologies as he moved through the congregated students and trying to muster a grin to not look completely insane, Troy belatedly realized the crowd was larger than he thought. After several more agonizing seconds, he had finally reached the outer fringe of the throng when he heard his father's voice bellowing from over his shoulder. Troy chanced a glance back to see him barreling through the crowd to get to him with Chad following up the rear.

"Shit," he breathed before turning back to pop free of the crowd. He sprinted towards the wide open double doors not even worrying anymore about how all of this looked. By mere chance as he raced through the frozen lunchroom, he caught the worried gaze of Mrs. Darbus standing with a group of teachers. He looked away even as his chest tightened and ducked through the double doors out into the breezeway that branched out in several directions. Taking a random one, he ran with all his energy away from the cafeteria, leaving behind the clamor of his schoolmates, the shouts of Chad calling, "Troy!", and the shouts of his father yelling, "Bolton!".


End file.
